


(Untitled)

by x_w0rm_b0y_x



Category: Danganronpa
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Rated teen for language, They Are Just Highschoolers, also sayaka is nice no snake jokes, bc they are all Babies, daiya is alive bc frick you, no junko im sorry, sfw, she/her for chihiro, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26294044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/x_w0rm_b0y_x/pseuds/x_w0rm_b0y_x
Summary: Kiyotaka Ishimaru was already excited to begin his time at Hope’s Peak Academy, and that excitement only intensified when he began to make some new friends- but there was one issue- Mondo Owada, one of the most infuriating people he’d ever met. But Taka won’t let him get in the way of enjoying his high school experience!hhrnffhdh kinda dont like this,, i was just getting back into writing when i decided to start it so read at ur own risk ,,,,,
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Mondo Owada
Kudos: 27





	1. The Beginning of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> hello ! ive decided i want to get back into writing so, here we are! please excuse any mistakes, i am fairly new to ao3 so i dont totally get it yet, and havent written in a while, anyways, i hope you enjoy! oh ! nearly forgot, please be sure and check the notes of every chapter as that’s where i will be putting any possible triggers, im planning to keep this story fairly light, but just in case!

Kiyotaka Ishimaru stared up at the large, imposing building that was Hope’s Peak Academy, with a huge, somewhat dorky grin. He knew that he should probably stop loitering and head inside, but he figured if there were an acceptable time to take a moment and reflect, it would be now. 

He was proud, so incredibly proud, and pride was not a luxury he often indulged in. No, pride was not something he could allow himself to wallow in, for it was the thing that lead to his grandfather’s downfall. Pride, arrogance, selfishness- Those were all traits of geniuses, and traits that his grandfather had possessed in spades. But for a brief moment Kiyotaka let that feeling swell in his chest- after years of grueling work, of sacrificing his social life, his sleep, and sometimes his own wellbeing- he was finally beginning to get results. 

But as he began to walk towards the entrance of the school he reminded himself that it wasn’t over, that he still had a lifetime of hard work and sacrifices, but he was okay with that, he had learned that the only way to truly succeed was through hard work and sacrifices years and years ago when he had caught a glimpse of his grandfather on the news accompanied by text reading ‘Scandal!’ in large, obvious letters.

As he stepped into the entrance hall he looked around, it appeared he was the first one there! This wasn’t a strange occurrence for Kiyotaka, as the Ultimate Moral Compass he took punctuality incredibly seriously. As he was studying a bulletin board which was advertising the various events that were set to take place this upcoming school year, he heard someone step through the door, immediately turning to look at who he assumed would be one of his fellow classmates. He saw a boy, considerably shorter than him with brown hair that stuck out at seemingly impossible angles. The next thing Kiyotaka noticed was the boy’s clothes, he was wearing a school uniform but with a hoodie under it! Kiyotaka had to hold back what he could only describe as a scoff, wearing a hoodie under your school uniform? Could you be any more disrespectful?

Seemingly unaware of Kiyotaka’s immediate distaste for him, the boy strode forward and stuck out his arm.

“Hello! I’m Makoto Naegi,” He said as Kiyotaka grasped his hand in a firm handshake, Kiyotaka had never been good with picking up on other people’s feelings, but even he could tell the boy- Naegi- was nervous.

“Hello, Makoto Naegi! I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the ultimate moral compass!” He pulled his hand away and bowed deeply.

“Ah! There’s really no need for that-“

“Nonsense! Treating your fellow human beings with the upmost respect is of unparalleled importance!”

“I think I’m starting to see why you’re the ultimate moral compass, uh, by the way, I’m the ultimate lucky student, I think I forgot to mention that before.” Naegi rubbed at the back of his neck, letting out an awkward laugh. Kiyotaka however, seemed to light up.

“The ultimate lucky student you say! I was so excited to know that there would be another regular person attending this school! How fortunate that we should be the first ones here!” He gushed, his hands gesturing wildly as he spoke.

“What do you mean by ‘another regular person’?”

“Ah! This school is filled to the brim with geniuses and prodigies, people with incredible natural talent. People who have never had to work for anything! I, however, have worked very hard to be here and to gain the title of ‘Ultimate’! I am no prodigy! Simply a regular person, just like you! That is what I mean!”

“I-I see,” Makoto thought that in order to be this intense, you must have been at least somewhat naturally inclined to being the Ultimate Moral Compass, but felt it was probably best not to start arguments with your classmates on the first day of school. 

Just as the moral compass went to say something else, a new figure walked through the door. This time it was a girl, with long blue hair and sparkling blue eyes to match. Kiyotaka watched as she spotted Naegi and lit up.

“Makoto Naegi! Is that you?”

“S-Sayaka! You remember me?”

“Of course! We were in the same school for three years, how could I forget?”

‘Sayaka’- as Naegi had called her- and Naegi began chatting and Kiyotaka looked around the room a bit more, it was very nice, a fairly large entrance hall with pillars on either side. In one corner he notices a small window, probably for visitors to sign in, and across from that was a case filled with countless trophies. He looked at the doors he had walked in through, then at the door at the back of the room, which Kiyotaka knew led to the school, since he had already visited here to drop off all his things at his dormitory. His attention was drawn back to the entrance of the school as yet another student entered the room, a small girl with light brown hair and a green jacket. 

As Naegi and Sayaka continued their conversation, Kiyotaka decided he may as well introduce himself to the new girl.

“Hello! I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass!” Once again, Kiyotaka bowed deeply.

“H-Hi, I’m Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer. I-It’s nice to meet you,”

“I can assure you, the pleasure is all mine.” Fujisaki smiled softly and Kiyotaka returned the gesture.

“I must admit, Ms. Fujisaki, I’ve never been inclined towards technology, I have a great respect for anyone who can figure it out.”

“Ah, t-thank you,” She paused thoughtfully, “M-Maybe sometime we could h-hangout and I could try to teach you about computers?” Suddenly, her eyes widened in worry, “O-Only if you’d want to, that is!”

Kiyotaka could feel his eyes filling with tears and he bowed deeply, “I would love that! Your kindness is astounding!” No one had ever bothered to ask Kiyotaka to hang out before, his peers had always been, ah, less than kind. He looked down at the small girl with tears running down his face. For her to sacrifice her own time to help him with his personal issues? It truly was an indescribably kind gesture. 

“H-Here,” The small girl produced a green handkerchief from her pocket and taka took it gratefully and began to dab at his eyes.

“I apologize! I have an unfortunate tendency to be overly-emotional.”

“N-No it’s fine!”

“Taka!” Kiyotaka turned to the voice, Taka? That must be him, it only made sense, considering his name is Kiyo-Taka, but no one had ever given him a nickname before, well a nice nickname that is. Weren’t nicknames things that friends gave each other? Or was he mistaken, he really hadn’t ever read about nicknames, he cursed himself for neglecting to educate himself on this topic. He suddenly realized he was probably expected to respond.

“Ah! Yes!” He made his way to Naegi, “What did you need?”

“I just wanted to introduce you to Sayaka, we went to middle school together!” The blue-haired girl held out her hand.

“Sayaka Maizono, Ultimate Pop Sensation. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“I am Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass, and I assure you, the pleasure is all mine!”

“Oh, by the way Kiyotaka, I’m sorry if me calling you Taka made you uncomfortable- giving people nicknames is just a thing I kinda do- I didn’t really think about it.” Makoto scratched his head slightly as he spoke, looking at the floor.

“Oh no, I quite like the nickname, it’s just that I was under the impression that nicknames were a thing that only friends did, so I was a bit taken aback.”

“Well, let’s be friends then!”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, why not?”

Taka could feel himself tearing up again, was everyone at Hope’s Peak this kind? First Fujisaki, and now Naegi? This all had to be some elaborate prank to get his hopes up and then crush them at the last minute... But Naegi looked so sincere, and there was no way sweet little Chihiro could do something so dastardly...

“It would be an honor to be your friend, Makoto Naegi! I promise I will give it one-hundred and ten percent!” Makoto smiled at Taka’s response, then Sayaka spoke up.

“And any friend of Makoto’s is a friend of mine!”

“A-And we can be friends too! If y-you want.”

The tears that had been forming in Taka’s eyes spilled over and he was once more handed Chihiro’s handkerchief, only this time the crying turned into full-on blubbering, but Taka couldn’t help it, he was just so happy to finally have some friends. Goodness, school hadn’t even started yet and he already had more friends than he had ever had in his life.

This was going to be a good year.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiyotaka continues to make friends, but also has his first run-in with a possible nemesis...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! tw for mentions of past bullying, stay safe! please enjoy! :-) (also i know mondo is quite rude, i promise he will get better!)

Kiyotaka awoke to the sound of his alarm, as he did every morning, but this morning was different, for today was his first day as an official Hope’s Peak student! The orientation yesterday had gone well and they had gotten the rest of the day to organize their dorms, familiarize themselves with the campus, and socialize with their fellow students. Normally, Kiyotaka wouldn’t even dream of socializing with his peers, but after he had set up his few belongings in his dorm and was content with his knowledge of the school grounds, he found himself heading to Naegi’s dorm. 

Naegi still hadn’t finished with setting up his dorm, but was happy to let Taka help while they chatted. It had been incredibly enjoyable! Kiyotaka was beginning to understand why everyone made such a big deal of friends and human connections, it had only been a day, and already he cherished Naegi, as well as Fujisaki and Maizono, so much.

Taka couldn’t help but beam as he went through his morning routine, the beginning of school was always a time he would look forward to, despite the negative experiences he had with his peers. School was a place he could prove himself, he often spent all of summer break studying and looking forward to being able to actually apply his new knowledge. Yes, the simple satisfaction of doing well on an important test was enough to justify all the sacrifices he had made.

Kiyotaka made sure to double-knot the laces on his knee-high black boots before grabbing his school bag and heading to the dining hall for a healthy breakfast. As he entered the dining hall, boots clicking against the tile floor, he noticed two figures sitting together at the large table in the center of the room, and after a moment he recognized them as Sakura Ogami and Aoi Asahina, whom he had briefly met at orientation yesterday. He gave the two girls a polite smile before heading into the kitchen.

Soon enough his plate was full with a balanced breakfast. Kiyotaka had always taken the phrase ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.’ to heart. He was a hardworking student who needed a good meal to fuel his brain for all his classes! As he walked back out into the dining hall, Sakura waved him over.

“Ishimaru! Why don’t you sit with us.” 

“Ah! Thank you Ms. Ogami, but I would hate to intrude-“ Suddenly Aoi piped up.

“C’mon Kiyotaka! We promise you won’t be intruding.”

“Well if you insist-“ Taka took a seat across from the two girls and gently set down his plate and silverware.

As it turns out, Sakura and Aoi had run into each other in the locker rooms, where they had both gone to get in an early morning workout. They had ended up working out together and were now refueling for the day ahead. Kiyotaka made a mental note to figure out his own workout schedule, physical health was very important after all! As the trio ate, more students slowly began to file into the cafeteria. Soon enough they were joined by Makoto, Sayaka and Chihiro, as well as a girl that Makoto introduced as Kyoko Kirigiri.

The group continued to talk, and Kiyotaka watched as more and more students made their way into the dining hall, being sure to pay close attention to those who were particularly late, as those would probably be the troublemakers. Normally, Hope’s Peak would wait until everyone got settled into their classes before assigning jobs such as hall monitor, but Kiyotaka had specifically reached out asking if there were any leadership positions available, and the school had offered him the job! Which he of course gladly accepted. So, seeing as it would be his job to wrangle any students who chose to disobey rules, he may as well try to pick them out early.

“Please excuse me! I must return my plate to the kitchen!” Taka stood, and began heading to his destination. He was just about to step through the kitchen door when someone ran into him, nearly knocking him over! Though luckily he was able to save himself- and his plate.

“‘Ey, watch where you’re going.” A low voice reached Taka’s ears.

“Excuse me, but I believe you were the one who ran into me,” Kiyotaka turned to face the man who had very nearly knocked him over, he was a bit taller than him, and appeared to be a bit more muscular as well, but Taka never backed down from enforcing his values, one of which is that you should take responsibility for your actions. “Perhaps your hair was obstructing your vision?” Kiyotaka was genuinely trying to be helpful, but the man seemed to take this comment as an insult, and cracked his knuckles in what Kiyotaka assumed was supposed to be threatening manor.

“You wanna fight lil’ guy? I won’t hesitate to wipe the floor with ya-“

“I do not wish to fight, and I don’t appreciate you calling me little. I am of average height, you’re simply unreasonably tall.”

“Oh that’s it!” The man drew his arm back, seemingly preparing for a punch, and Kiyotaka braced, but no punch came. Kiyotaka opened his eyes to find Chihiro standing between him and the angry man.

“Ch-Chihiro! What are you doing, you could have gotten hurt!” Kiyotaka exclaimed, and the small girl turned to face him.

“N-Nobody hurts my friends!” She exclaimed before turning back to the larger man. “I-It’s only the first day of s-school and somehow people are managing to get into fights! Th-That’s do-ownright unreasonable!” She suddenly pointed at the man, “A-And I know Kiyotaka, and he would never purposefully start a fight with anyone! S-So you b-better apologize, mister!” The man looked surprisingly taken aback by Chihiro’s words. He looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Sorry, ‘r whatever.”

“Your apology is accepted!” Chihiro smiled at the two boys and returned to her seat, confident that the fighting was over. What she missed was the larger man leaning down to whisper something in Kiyotaka’s ear.

“Ya better watch out. Next time I see ya, I’ll follow through on that punch, and yer little girlfriend ain’t gonna be there t’ save ya. That’s a man’s promise.”

“Chihiro and I have only known each other for a couple of days, I can assure you she is not-“ but before Taka could finish correcting the man, he was gone. Well, that was rather rude. He returned his plate to the kitchen before heading back to the table.

“I would love nothing more than to stay and chat, but I must be getting to class!” Kiyotaka announced, probably a bit too loudly. “Before I leave, Chihiro, I would like to thank you again for saving me earlier! Your kindness continues to be astounding!” Chihiro smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Kiyotaka grabbed his schoolbag and headed out towards his first class.

The day went off without a hitch! He thoroughly enjoyed all his classes, as one of the best schools in the country, Hope’s Peak had some of the best teachers. His hall monitor duties went well as any rule breaking was unintentional, with people simply getting lost or not being familiar with the rules, but just as the school day was coming to an end, he came across a familiar face doing some rule breaking that was most certainly intentional.

“Excuse me! What do you think you’re doing?” Kiyotaka asked, approaching the man who was currently scratching away at the paint on a locker with a knife. The man rolled his eyes as he saw Taka approaching.

“Makin’ a sandwich,” He replied sarcastically. “What does it look like I’m doin’?”

“It looks like you are vandalizing school property!” Kiyotaka couldn’t help but throw his arms up into the air in exasperation. Suddenly the man stopped and his eyebrows furrowed as he focused on Kiyotaka.

“Didn’t I promise to punch ya ‘r somethin’?” 

“I... believe you may have said something like that.” At that, the man stood and cracked his knuckles.

“I’ll admit, ya must have balls of steel t’ keep comin’ after me like this, but that should sort itself out soon enough.” The man drew his arm back once more and this time the punch came full force, right at Taka’s face. He managed to duck out of the way and the man fell forward with a grunt. This seemed to make him more upset. He lunged at Taka once more, and once again Taka narrowly dodged.

“Physical fights are not permitted on school grounds!” Kiyotaka managed to shout between the man’s attacks. Soon enough though, the final bell rang and students poured out of the classrooms, filling the hall. The man disappeared, presumably not wanting to be spotted by a teacher.

Kiyotaka looked around, searching the crowded halls for familiar faces before his eyes landed on Maizono and Naegi. 

“Ah! H-Hello!” Kiyotaka shouted to get the pair’s attention. It worked and they both turned towards him. Soon, Maizono was right next to him, looking very concerned.

“Kiyotaka, Chihiro told us about what happened at breakfast, are you alright?”

“Ah, yes, thank you for your concern, I am perfectly fine.” It was almost instinct at this point, countless times Kiyotaka had come home from school with just a few too many bruises or scrapes, and his father would ask that exact question, and he would always respond with the same answer. ‘Thank you for your concern, I am perfectly fine.’ Needless to say, he more often than not was not ‘perfectly fine’, but his father was already working so hard to keep them afloat, Kiyotaka couldn’t afford to be a burden. So he would simply go to the bathroom and pull out the first aid kit and tend to his own wounds, as he had been doing nearly as long as he could remember. 

“All right, if you insist.” Sayaka still looked skeptical, but didn’t pry anymore. And, really, Kiyotaka thought, compared to all that had happened to him in the past, he really was fine. He had managed to dodge the man’s attacks and get away unscathed. As he walked with Naegi and Maizono, he spotted a head of lavender hair bobbing through the crowd.

“I did some digging, his name is Mondo Owada, the ultimate biker gang leader.”

“Thanks Kyoko!” Makoto yelled as the girl began to walk away towards some unknown destination. He then turned to Taka. “I hope you don’t mind, after Chihiro told us about the incident this morning I asked Kyoko if she could maybe figure out who the guy was, so maybe we could, I dunno, report him or something.” 

“Oh! Thank you! That was very considerate of you!” The trio continued to walk towards the dorms, making idle chit chat about which teachers were nice, or what classes they were looking forward to. Kiyotaka felt himself relax, even if ‘Owada’ continued to cause trouble, he was confident this would be a good year thanks to his new friends.


End file.
